Aker appears as a pair of twin lions, one named Duaj (meaning “yesterday”) and the other Sefer (meaning “tomorrow”). Aker was thus often titled “He who’s looking forward and behind”. Lions were widespread in prehistoric times and still present in the Nile Valley in the late Pharaonic history. The lion was an important element in...
Tomb painting of Inherkhau worshiping the serpent god Sata, son of the earth and guardian of the underworld. Snakes were dominantly present in ancient Egyptian mythology. They played a double role, benevolent and malevolent. They could be evoked for curing, protecting and healing but at the very same time cursing and inflicting danger. Sata belonged...
The Egyptian word for “year” was rnpt and was closely related to the idea of annual growth and the renewal of the cycle of vegetation; the hieroglyph would represent a branch of palm, leafless and carved for measurement purposes. The beginning of the year for the ancient Egyptians was not on January 1st, but in...
